Pb Monolayer Mediated Thin Film Growth of Cu and Co: Exploring Different Concepts

We present results exploring different concepts for Pb monolayer mediated thin film growth of Cu on Ru(0001) and Co on polycrystalline Cu substrates. Both systems are of considerable importance in microchip fabrication technology and they exhibit a three dimensional growth at room temperature which somewhat limits their application. The Pb monolayer mediation of the growth process is explored by having its role as a surfactant, flux mediator or as a sacrificial layer in deposition via surface limited redox replacement protocol. Electrochemical and STM results suggest that Pb monolayer induces 2D Cu growth on Ru(0001) and the growth mechanism is very dependent on the Pb mediation role. The surfactant properties of electrolessly deposited Pb monolayer are also studied during electroless deposition of Co on polycrystalline Cu. The benefit of Pb monolayer mediation of the Co growth process was manifested by 2D Co thin film morphology, high quality of the grain boundaries, and improved magnetic properties. (C) The Author(s) 2018. Published by ECS.